Oliver Davis Jr. Photo courtesy of South Bend Tribune.

Cheers to the South Bend Tribune for this article on National Association of Social Workers member and town common council member Oliver Davis Jr.

Davis recently received a 2010 Public Official of the Year Award from Transforming Action Through Power for his work improving his community. Davis says he gets his inspiration from “Won’t You Be My Neighbor,” the theme song from “Mr. Rogers’ Neighborhood.”

“I care about the neighborhoods because if the neighbors have problems with abandoned houses, no jobs and poor city services, then it’s not a beautiful neighborhood,” Davis said. “But when people work together to improve things, it can and will be a beautiful neighborhood.”